FlashReport Weblog on California Politics

Posted by Duane Dichiara at 12:00 am on Aug 27, 2010 Comments Off on Is Another Waters Ethics Problem About to Break?

See Bradley Benbrook’s
"Water’s ‘unseemly’ slate-mail game" running now on Cal
Watchdog. If you read one thing today, this should be it.
It’s so outrageous I’m not even going to summarize it here. Just
rub your eyes on it.… Read More

Some of the books I’m reading or have read (or re-read) over the
summer.

Plunder by Steven
Greenhut. If you haven’t read it, buy it today and read it.
In short the book is about how public employee union members have
become the new elite, and how the situation is unsustainable.

The Same of the Cities
by Lincoln Steffens. After you read the Greenhut book read
this series of articles in book form. They run over the corruption
of 19th Century political machines that led to civil service reform
that lead to civil service machines.

All of the original
James Bond novels by Ian Flemming. A guilty pleasure I
revisit most summers. Read them slowly and enjoy.

Red State Blue State
Rich State Poor State by Andrew Gelman. We live in a news
world that divides states red and blue. Why? Are they? If so, why?
Is it income? Yes and no.

The Stalinist Penal
System by Otto Pohl. This is an original source… Read More

Posted by Jennifer Nelson at 12:00 am on Aug 26, 2010 Comments Off on Fund on Miller-Murkowski Race

I know this isn’t California
politics (as the Flashreport is geared towards) but John Fund’s
blog todayon the Miller-Murkowski race in Alaska (I can no
longer write Alaska without hearing Sandra Bollock’s voice in my
head: A-las-ka. Go rent The Proposal if you don’t get it.) is worth
reading.Looks like they don’t think Murkowski can win, even
with the absentee votes that still need to be counted.
Here’s a snippet:
“Ms. Murkowski could also run a
write-in campaign and has until Oct. 28 to choose that course. But
such campaigns rarely work, are incredibly complicated and run the
risk of being seen as a desperate sour grapes move by an incumbent
not willing to bow to the will of the voters.In the end, Ms. Murkowski would
do well to reconcile
… Read More

It is downright embarrassing that we are nearly 60 days past the
state’s Constitutional deadline for the passage of a state
budget. Yet there is no state spending plan in place.
The Democrats who control the State Senate and State Assembly
remain committed to a course of trying to exact extreme financial
pain on state taxpayers, looking to increase taxes to close the
budget “gap” – while Republican legislators remain firm in their
resolve to reject any budget plan that includes new
taxes.

As a reminder of exactly how dysfunctional the budget process
has become, the legislature continues to pass hundreds if not
thousands of pieces of legislation that at best have nothing to do
with the budget, or at worst, come with financial costs that will
only worsen the budget crisis. All of the state’s legislators
seem comfortable delegating the whole process over to the four
legislative leaders, and we get to read tweets from the Capitol
Press Corps, notifying us of occasional sightings – yesterday
letting us know that the Governor is now meeting with Democrat and
Republican leaders separately, conducing “shuttle… Read More

California is known for the glamorous lifestyles of its famous
residents. Open up any gossip magazine and you’ll see pages of
images of celebrities frolicking on the beautiful beaches of
Malibu, dining at exclusive restaurants in Pacific Palisades, or
partying in Hollywood nightclubs. It’s a lifestyle that very few
Americans can relate to, but many envy. Conversely, celebrities,
like California politicians, can lose touch with the very people
they entertain. The perception of liberal bias in Hollywood isn’t
inaccurate.

Some celebrities use their fame and influence to lend power to
political causes. Such is the case with the California
legislature’s attempt to ban plastic bags. Only in a state as
celebrity-centric as California could an environmentalist protest
in Malibu, featuring actors Julia Louise
Dreyfus and
Jeremy Irons, lead to a full-scale, statewide ban on plastic
grocery bags. While Ms. Dreyfus and Mr. Irons may be accomplished
actors, should their latest cause de… Read More

In terms of business being handled by the Convention, this
typically comes from the work of three key committees – Rules,
Resolutions and Initiatives. Below is a report on how Rules
issues were handled (or not) at the convention…

Delegates took key action at this convention concerning how to
deal with the passage of Proposition 14, the terrible ballot
measure designed by its proponents to reduce the number of
anti-tax, pro-liberty Republicans in Sacramento, and allow more
terrible budget deals like last year, which included the single
largest tax increase in the history of any state.

Delegates approved key bylaw provisions that were ultimately
authored by Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth and
Assembly Republican Leader Martin Garrick that are designed to
strengthen the party’s position in pending litigation against
Proposition 14 (there is unanimous resolve amongst the leaders of
the party to try and overturn 14 in the courts, though the best
timing to maximize potential for success is still a subject of
discussions).

Also important is that a proposal by CRP delegate Luis Buhler to
repeal the statewide/district convention… Read More

Sterling Clifford is Jerry Brown’s
campaign spokesman in the race for Governor of California. He
is a liberal political hack that used to be a chief spokesperson
for Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, who was indicted on 12 counts of
perjury, theft and misconduct in office last year.
After being convicted, she resigned as Baltimore’s first
African-American female Mayor in January of 2010, and Sterling
headed west and took his job with Jerry Brown’s campaign in April,
2010.

Sterling Clifford has "done me wrong."
I am currently working on the legal team reviewing and approving,
for legal, a series of issue advocacy television advertisements
which are critical of Jerry Brown’s performance in office.
These ads are being produced by the "Small Business Action
Committee," a nonprofit organization I incorporated and serve as
General Counsel of, that is managed and directed by Joel Fox.

Well, the Brown campaign does not like
the ads, which point out the army of lawyers… Read More